In a new addition to the Daily Liberal's coverage of the RSL-Whitney Cup this season, each week we'll look at some of the major talking points coming out of the first grade competition in the Quick Singles series.
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It might be good, it might be bad, it might just be something we find funny. Either way, it's more of a look at what's happening in one of the bush's strongest club competitions.
Here's what caught our attention on Saturday.
1. Brothers' battle is heating up
Yes, the focus for most is on the battle between Macquarie and CYMS at the top of the ladder, or the race for the third, or even the race to avoid the wooden spoon.
We're looking at something a little different.
There's plenty of brothers playing together across the Dubbo District Cricket Association, but the statistics between three sets really catches the eye.
The Strachans, Medways, and Skinners are all proving to be relatively evenly-matched in the battle for family bragging rights.
In the case of the Medways, both Dan and Ricky have been two of the competition's best so far this summer.
Dan leads all run-scorers with 341 at an average of 42 but opening partner Ricky isn't too far behind, having hit 282 at 35.
Ricky edges his brother when it comes to wickets, having bagged 13 at the fantastic average of 15 while Dan has 12 wickets now at an average of 19.
For the Strachans, Ben has the advantage when it comes to runs but Lachlan has proved one of CYMS' best with the ball this season.
Ben, who played one game for CYMS before making the switch to Macquarie this season, has 304 runs at an average of 43 while Lachlan has 254 runs at 31.
Lachlan has nine wickets though, at the average of 20, while Ben has just the six wickets as he approaches full fitness following an elbow complaint.
Similar stats are nothing new for the Skinners, with Mat and Steve having been two of the RSL-Whitney Cup's best for the best part of a decade.
Mat has proved the better of the two so far this season when it comes to batting, with his 236 runs far better than Steve's 100 but the pair are even when it comes to bowling.
The brothers have 10 wickets each so far.
2. Hill gets a chance to breathe
No player has proved more important for their side so far this season than Jacob Hill.
Some had even poked fun at the Rugby captain, asking how sore his shoulders were given he had carried his side during the first few rounds.
But few would have been more pleased than Hill when his side downed Newtown in a hard-fought match at No. 2 Oval.
Hill scored just 11 and went wicketless but his side still got the job done.
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Crucially, a number of different players contributed. Aidan Bennewith made a half century, Adam Richards belted them around from the lower order and then jagged 2/24 from his eight overs.
Ben Rosenbaum also bowled one of his best spells in first grade on Saturday, taking three wickets for just 16 runs from eight overs in a spell that went a long way to deciding the match.
With the likes of Roland O'Connor, Ben Wheeler, Jakke Gardiner, and veteran Nathan Munro there's no shortage of quality in the lineup.
Finals could be too much of an ask for Rugby but Saturday's result is one of the best the side has scored this season.
If Hill keeps firing and others around continue to contribute they could cause some real headaches post-Christmas.
2. Is the Cougars' captain under-using himself?
Another captain who keeps delivering for his side this season is Ben Knaggs.
But could he be doing even more?
Knaggs took 4/8 from just 3.3 overs on Saturday to help knock over Macquarie for 180 in the top-of-the-table clash.
Those figures put him second in the RSL-Whitney Cup's wicket-takers' column.
He's one wicket behind teammate Bailey Edmunds and South Dubbo spinner Joe Coles. But he's bowled more than 25 overs less than Edmunds and 17 less than Coles.
Knaggs has only bowled his allotted eight overs twice so far in the one-day matches.
He may have been dismissed for a first ball duck on Saturday but he's still averaging more than 60 with the bat this season as well, the best of any player in the competition.
He's been not out four times at the end of an innings so far so the question has to be asked; what could he be doing if he was batting higher and bowling all his overs?
Hill, as pointed out above, knows how important he is and is opening the batting and bowling each week for Rugby, and the same goes for Newtown's Mat Skinner at times.
Macquarie skipper Ed Haylock has a spot nailed down for himself in the top order of his lineup, while Colts' Marty Jeffrey has used himself in various situations with both bat and ball so far this campaign.
Barry Hildebrandt Medal tally
Every season the Daily Liberal's sports team awards a three, two, one after each game in first grade. We'll give updates after each weekend until Christmas, when voting goes behind closed doors.
Here's how this campaign's race is shaping up:
- 12: Ricky Medway (Macquarie)
- 9: Lachlan Strachan (CYMS)
- 7: Marty Jeffrey (RSL-Colts), Charlie Kempston (RSL-Colts)
- 6: Brock Larance (CYMS), Ben Knaggs (CYMS)
- 5: Dan Medway (Macquarie), Bailey Edmunds (CYMS), Jacob Hill (Rugby), Adam Wells (Souths), Tom Coady (CYMS)
- 4: Koda Sissian (Rugby), Mat Skinner (Newtown)
- 3: Steve Skinner (Newtown), John Colwell (Souths), Doug Potter (Newtown), Roland O'Connor (Rugby), Brad Cox (Colts), James Hughes (Macquarie),Mitch Russo (Newtown), Adam Richards (Rugby), Aidan Bennewith (Rugby), Angus Norton (Souths), Myles Smith (Macquarie)
- 2: Ben Semmler (Colts), Luke Carman (Macquarie), Lachie Rayner (Souths), Ben Williams (CYMS), Jesse Spang (Newtown), Ben Strachan (Macquarie), Ben Rosenbaum (Rugby), Jason Ryan (RSL-Colts)
- 1: Lee Price (Newtown), Lochie Endacott (Souths), Jason Green (Macquarie), Joe Haylock (Macquarie), Dan French (Newtown), Anthony Atlee (RSL-Colts), Chris Morton (Colts), Greg Rummans (Souths), Bede Young (RSL-Colts)